


Game of Traps: The Nut Kin Remix

by Kita_the_Spaz



Category: Naruto
Genre: Crack, Gen, M/M, Remix
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-12
Updated: 2013-05-12
Packaged: 2017-12-11 14:58:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/800009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kita_the_Spaz/pseuds/Kita_the_Spaz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Squirrels and dogs and traps, oh my!</p><p>A remix of Nut Kin for the KakaIru telephone challenge.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Game of Traps: The Nut Kin Remix

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Nut Kin](https://archiveofourown.org/works/784552) by [Josey (cestus)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cestus/pseuds/Josey). 



Kinomi didn’t bother watching Iruka-dono and his nest-mate standing there at the big rock of dead people. It was always the same, anyways, the two of them, standing there beneath the big hazelnut tree, not looking at each other, and staring at the stone like it might tell them things. Stones said nothing, unlike the grumpy dog sitting in another branch of the tree and peering down on the two human nest-mates like some sort of overgrown robin. The squirrel was sure the pug didn’t even realize just how much he was grumbling to himself.

He had a right to be upset, yes-yes, but Pakkun was getting on her nerves. Iruka-dono and Kakashi had gotten into a really big fight and it was interfering in important things, like cuddling and playing tricks on yelly-ninja in the big room of scroll-passing. She wasn’t quite sure what it was about but it had involved a lot of yelling and then stares cold enough to make her shiver in her fur. Something about rearranging the nest and cleaning it out. Which she didn’t quite understand. How could it make them both so upset? Spring was a good time for nest clearing: with soft new leaves to pad the nest with and lots of shed fur to snitch to line it with so it would be warm next cold-time. They had to clean it out, throw out the empty shells to make room for new nuts in the cache; more food for cold and snow.

Iruka-dono and his mate ( _Droopy,_ Kinomi decided, was a good name for him right now, because he’d been drooping the entire time since he and Iruka had fought.) were too absorbed in their own misery to realize they were being watched, and too lacking in understanding to realize the muttering was anything but normal wildlife sounds. 

Kinomi eyed the tree and the hazelnuts hanging temptingly overhead and chattered merrily to herself. The pug needed distracting or he’d give himself away with his brooding. She leapt up and caught a nut between her paws, snapping the delicate stem with ease. “One-a!” She chittered delightedly. Finding a hollow in the tree, she placed her new acquisition there with care and leapt away to find a second nut. “Two-a!” she sang out merrily. A third fell by itself and she snatched it up with a shrill cry of delight. “Three-a!” A fourth and fifth quickly followed, snatched up by swift paws and she warbled the numbers merrily.

“Six-sixsixsixsixsix!!!” Kinomi chattered with delight, finishing on a joyous whistle. She risked a glance back at the brooding dog watching over the nest-mates, and saw that his ears had flattened and his paws were coming up to cover his muzzle. He’d stopped muttering, but she saw the opportunity to torture him a little more. Hadn’t he yelled “Squirrel!” and chased her the very first time they’d met? Stupid dog!

And now she’d lost count. So, she started over again, chittering louder and louder to aggravate the dog. It worked when Pakkun finally snarled at her to shut up. Kinomi sat back on her haunches, pleased with herself.

But his irritation didn’t last long and he quickly went back to brooding. 

Annoyed, Kinomi flicked her bushy tail and looked down at Iruka-dono. He looked like he might say something to his nestmate, but Kakashi turned away suddenly, striding away without a backward glance. She gnawed on a claw worriedly.

Iruka spoke to her often when he was upset and he’d been very upset the past two — three weeks or so. Kinomi wasn’t particularly good with time save for knowing the changing of days and seasons, but it had been long enough to worry her. Iruka had confided in her that Kakashi was headed out on a mission soon and from the sounds of it, it was a very personal grudge, kind of like hers with Pakkun, but a lot worse. She understood more than Iruka gave her credit for, but lacked the words to articulate it properly in human language.

There was an old enemy who had it in for Kakashi. Understandable, if Droopy was anything like his grouchy summons. Someone who had come from his Cloud-nesting-tree to find and hurt Iruka’s nestmate. Iruka knew his mate was going, and that had made him even sadder and all guilty torn-up. The nice lady who smelled like fermented things and with the sunflower seeds in her pockets that she was willing to share had told Iruka that Kakashi would be leaving to deal with the Cloud-tree enemy. She patted Iruka on the shoulder and advised him to patch things up before Kakashi went away. Iruka had looked sick, but the lady has laughed. “Don’t worry so much, sensei. I fully expect him to come back, but the sooner you two get over what’s bothering you, the sooner he’ll want to come back. I need him in fighting trim and if that means him getting regular sex, then by all means... fix things so I don’t have to deal with a uptight, horny brat of his caliber.”

But Iruka still wasn’t talking to his nestmate, and Droopy certainly wasn’t talking either.

Silly humans. They needed to get it out of their systems and get back to doing important things, like petting and feeding wonderful squirrels like herself... and maybe even giving the grouchy dog a bone so he’d have something to keep his mouth occupied.

Absently, Kinomi resumed gathering nuts and singing her counting song, the familiar actions soothing her so she could think about Iruka-dono’s problem. At least until a very, very heavy dog paw landed on her and pinned her to the branch! She chattered furiously and tried to take a chunk out of the droopy-jowled face looming far too close to hers.

“Shut up, or I’ll bite your damned tail off.” Pakkun growled, his hot, meat-scented breath washing over her. 

Kinomi stopped and glared up at him, folding her front paws in an imitation of Iruka. “Smelly!” She scolded, punctuating it with a high pitched whistle. “It’ll take me all day to get your breath out of my fur!” She fixed him with a particularly menacing stare. “You bite me and those two will never talk again.”

That worked and Pakkun got off her quick-quick. Kinomi hopped back to her feet and shook herself all over. _Yuck, doggy breath smell all over her fur!_ She checked her cache and turned to face Pakkun, cradling a nut in her forepaws. Even if she wasn’t going to be eating it now, holding it soothed her. “So what’re we doing?” she demanded. “We gonna fight like them or are we gonna fix them? Iruka-dono is-” she voiced a whistle that indicated a complicated combination of sorrow, anger and distress “-without his Droopy.”

“I have _no_ idea,” Pakkun sighed, flopping down on his belly on the branch, looking almost as lost as Iruka-dono did. “It’d be easier if they were dogs and could just fight it out until they were friends again, but I don’t think humans work that way.”

“Hmm,” Kinomi briefly considered offering Pakkun a nut, because didn’t nuts make everything better, but reconsidered. Stinky meat-eater wouldn’t appreciate a good nut if it clonked him in the head. “Squirrels do it the same.” She told him with a cascading series of trills and clicks that described the way she and her kin would squabble over nesting, territory and mates, and then make up just as swiftly. She flicked her ears and tail excitedly. “Is good fun.”

Pakkun snorted. “Even fighting wouldn’t help those two; one of them would just up and leave before they got it all out.”

Kinomi dropped her nut; a brilliant idea hitting her like a lightning bolt. They could make Iruka-dono and his nestmate fight it out! Make sure that they couldn’t escape before they’d aired all of their grievances. “Easy way!” She chattered excitedly, speaking fast to get everything out. Lure and trap Iruka-dono and Kakashi-droopy in an underground chamber together until they could settle this once and for all! It was perfect!

Pakkun sat there for a long moment, just staring at her like he’d not understood more than half of what she said. Not for the first time, she wondered if he was slow or just hadn’t grasped all of the fine nuances of squirrel chatter. Really, was it _that_ hard to grasp? She gathered up her fallen nut and returned it to her cache, chittering angrily when it refused to stay put.

Finally, Pakkun said, slowly, “Trap them underground?” He shook his head. “They’re ninja, nuts-for-brains. Trapping them wouldn’t keep them in one place long enough to do anything but get pissed at us, even if I got my whole pack in on it to help. They’d be out in a heartbeat.”

Kinomi couldn’t believe him; hadn’t he been listening at all? Huffing, she bounced up on her toes to make herself look taller. “I tell you, I told you, I tell you _again_ how to do it!” She bounced up again, flicking her tail for balance, and froze when the whole world went dark. Had the sun set?

The slide of cloth around her ears gave her the clue she needed and she lifted a forepaw to edge her leaf headband back into place. She blinked at Pakkun unhappily. “Oh? Not night?”

“Not night.” Pakkun said reassuringly. So he could be nice.

She launched into her explanation about wrapping the two silly human nestmates in wire before he could decide to be not-nice again. She chittered at full speed, emphasizing her speech with rapid flicks of her bushy tail, signals that any other squirrel would understand she was being deadly serious. It seemed the pug didn’t get it because he just looked confused. She spared a glance at his rump and nodded to herself, of course he wouldn’t understand tail language, when all he had was a stumpy little stub. How could he possibly say anything with that?

Pakkun had that sour look on his face again, like he’d eaten a not-ripe berry. “You mean, trap them in chakra wire first?” He sighed and looked down at his paws. “Not happening, Squirt,” he said balefully, lifting one of his feet to show her. “I’d love to, but these paws just aren’t up for the task.”

Kinomi chattered a gleeful laugh and leapt high into the air, landing squarely on Pakkun’s head. She ignored his startled yelp and settled herself, grabbing onto his ears for balance. “Why’d you think you has a squirrel, silly pup?” She leaned over and delicately waved one of her nimble paws in his face, amused when he went all cross-eyed trying to focus on it.

Below them, Iruka heaved a world-weary sigh and started back towards the village.

Kinomi tugged on Pakkun’s ears. “Now,” she chittered gleefully. “We plan!”

Pakkun growled something under his breath but began leaping back toward the village. He took her to where the rest of his pack waited, panting in the sun. The rest of the dogs crowded eagerly around Pakkun. 

“Have they made up yet?” Guruko whined, ears drooping. Several of the others joined in, their questions overlapping.

Kinomi chattered loudly, standing upright on Pakkun’s head. “No, no, no-no-no! Hush, silly pups! We have a plan!”

Pakkun harumphed under her, causing her to lose her balance and roll backward onto his shoulders. “The little squeaker is right, we do have a plan. Listen up.”

Kinomi shook herself and scrambled back up onto Pakkun’s head. “Hurry-hurry. Must be quick. Kakashi-droopy leaves soon, so we have to have things fast-fast!”

“Maybe I’d better explain,” Pakkun rumbled under her paws.

Kinomi chattered irritably and considered biting one of his drooping ears, but relented. Better if the pug explained it if the rest of the dogs were as slow as him.

Pakkun explained, with Kinomi getting more and more antsy by the minute. _Slow-slow-slow! Never get anything done this way._

Finally after what seemed like forever, Pakkun nodded.

With a shrill, Kinomi exploded into motion. She had sat still too long already! “Enough talk! No time! You and you,” She pointed at two of the dogs. “We need chakra wire, lots and lots. All you can find. Need diggers, need to dig trap.”

Pakkun snorted. “Got that covered, squeaky. Every single one of us know earth jutsu.” Pakkun nodded his head to the tall red dog. “Uuhei, you’ve been over every inch of the forest, where’s a good place to keep those two out of the way till they get it out of their systems?”

Uuhei sneezed. “I think you’re going a little overboard, but the least I can do is keep you from doing anything stupider than usual. Follow me.” Standing, Uuhei trotted back towards the gate.

Kinomi had to admit that, if nothing else, Pakkun was a good digger. He’d made quite the drop trap with help and pointed commentary added by the red dog. He was just putting the finishing touches on it when the two dogs assigned to fetch chakra wire staggered up, panting, each with a full spool of the hair thin wire and the gray dog also wearing several coils like bracelets on all four legs.

The gold and white dog collapsed on the ground under a tree, panting. “Is this enough? Please tell me it’s enough.”

Kinomi chattered in delight and leapt from her perch high in the tree to land next to the spool he’d dropped. “Yes. Good-good!”

“Oh thank goodness,” Murmured the gray dog, divesting himself of his chakra wire accessories. “If Iruka-sensei ever finds out we are the ones who stole this out of his supply closet at the academy, I don’t wanna think about what he’ll do to us.”

Kinomi tapped a claw on the wire. “This is for his own good, silly pup,” she scolded lightly. “Iruka-dono just doesn’t know it yet!” She straightened up, fixing all of the dogs with a stare; her best imitation of Iruka-dono. “Now, you all remember your parts? Good-good?”

At their nods, she chittered happily. “Go fetch while I weave big chakra wire trap.”

The dogs scattered to the four winds, save for Uuhei, sitting in the shade of the trees, and Pakkun, who sat there with a grumpy scowl. “Why are they listening to a little runt like you better than me?” he groused. “I’m the alpha of the pack.”

Kinomi laughed, tying down the first threads of her creation to anchoring branches and stones and passing the ends to Pakkun for the trigger seal he was building for the net. “Hey-hey, maybe I explain things better, silly pup. You think of that? No-no. Besides, Kakashi-droopy is boss of you, like Iruka-dono is boss of him. I’m better boss, because I have better boss.”

It was amusing to watch Pakkun try and wrap his head around her impeccable logic, but she really didn’t have time for that. “Hush-hush,” Kinomi shushed him, picking up a thread of chakra wire in her teeth and another in each paw. “Watch.”

She clambered up the side of the nearest tree, twisting the fine wire in intricate patterns behind her until she reached a branch at the correct height for the main backbone of her weaving. Now, timing was everything and she muttered under her breath to get the right rhythm for her pattern, drumming a paw on the bark to the mental count.

She leaped, twisting in mid-air to wind the wire just so. To keep the timing firmly in her head, she sang, timing her leaps and rebounds to the cadence of her song. “Chestnut to chestnut, to walnut tree, the more you grow the higher I’ll be!” All the while she knotted and wove the fine chakra wire in the complicated pattern needed for the trap. “Chestnut to cherry, from elm to pine, back and forth to weave my design.”

She paused for a moment to catch her breath, pinning the strands of her weaving under one paw so they wouldn’t come undone. Better than halfway done. And good timing too. Iruka-dono would be getting out of class soon-soon.

A bright red caught her eye and she squeaked happily. Just what she needed. A tasty, tasty cherry to give her energy for the rest of the weaving. Making sure her wires were safely pinned, she snatched the cherry and settled on her tail to feast.

When the juicy flesh was just a memory, she dropped the pit and licked her paws clean so she would not lose her hold on the wires.

Pakkun barked up at her from where he and the other dog were putting the finishing touches on the pit trap. “Hey, hurry up.”

She chattered nastily at him, glad that Iruka-dono wasn’t here to chide her for her language. Taking up the wires, she began the cadence again. Flicking her tail, she heard Pakkun tell Uuhei that he’d finish things here, and to get into position to intercept the boss.

Laughing, she plummeted off the branch to the next in the pattern. “Elm to birch, weave the wire, pine to cherry, climbing higher!” Soon, soon, she’d be done and the chakra-net would be ready.

Two more twists and Kinomi paused to anchor the web, panting. Fun-fun, but hard work. Almost done, though. Ooh, another cherry!

She was almost through with her second cherry when she heard Pakkun shout up at her, "Hurry up! School finished an hour ago and they actually need to be here before we can set the trap off."

 _Really? Like she didn’t know this already?_ Kinomi stuffed the last bite of cherry into her cheek and blinked down at the ranting pug. Who was the slow one here? Certainly not her! She took careful aim and hurled the pit down at him.

It hit him right on the nose and Pakkun sneezed with a stunned look on his wrinkly face. He went down on his rump hard and she chortled, taking up the strand of her weaving. “Not long now. Time for you to go play fetch, Pakkun-pup.” She sprang for a higher branch. “Chakra nest will be done soon-soon-soon!”

Pakkun started to shout something else, but she ignored him. Something flickered to her right and she whirled. _Bad-bad!_ She screamed warning.

The pain slammed into her like hitting a window at full speed. She couldn’t breathe through the bright, searing agony spearing through her midsection. Still gripping the chakra wire in numb paws, she looked down. The senbon needle was as big around as one of her forepaws, and gleaming in the sunlight where her own blood wasn’t dying it scarlet. _Ow, ow._ She couldn’t move and instinctively knew the needle had gone all the way through her, pinning her to the branch.

She tried to call a second warning to Pakkun, but couldn’t find the breath.

She could see the rogue Cloud-tree ninja leap for Pakkun, yelling something, but her heart was thundering too loud in her own ears to hear. _Bad-bad!_ Had to help Pakkun or Iruka-dono would never be happy again!

Pakkun flickered and dodged the red-haired nin’s frantic grasps, heading, she realized, straight for the trap they had been setting up. The trap that wasn’t finished!

She looked down at the chakra wires in her bloody paws. _Have to finish the net. Finish! Finish!_ The wires were slippery and her paws didn’t want to work. Kinomi forced herself to find the pattern and strove to weave the last few strands into place.

Her vision kept blurring and she could barely breath, but the last knot formed beneath her claws. She sent a weak pulse of her rapidly diminishing chakra into the net to activate it and let the wire slip from her grasp.

She saw Pakkun fall, and forced a screech out with every bit of breath she had. “Trap!”

She didn’t know if he heard her, but he landed just past the trigger, looking back at the Nin frantically.

The rogue landed squarely on the trigger. He never even realized the net had hit him until he was wrapped up in so many strands only his furious face showed. He tumbled backwards into the pit, screaming foul curses until the ground closed up and swallowed his voice.

Kinomi sighed, wrapping her paws around the metal that impaled her. _Good-good._

She blinked and when she opened her eyes again, Pakkun was right in front of her, struggling to get his teeth around the needle. It came free of the wood and slid out of her body with a sickening pop. She keened with pain, eyes squinched shut, and slid down to lie in a crumpled heap.

Pakkun nudged her and she made a short hiccuping sound, trying to get her breath back, and opened her eyes to stare up into the jowly face looming close to her own.

“Poison?” He growled.

She managed a nod before she couldn’t keep her eyes open any more.

She felt Pakkun pick her up in his mouth and had an insane thought that now he finally got to bite her. But his teeth closed around her gently and she could feel him lurch into movement. It hurt! Oh, how it hurt, but she clung tenaciously to consciousness. Kinomi knew if she fell asleep, she’d never wake up again.

Pakkun was laboring, his hot breath rasping around her, and she knew the poison in her blood was affecting him too. She patted his lip feebly and tried to tell him to put her down, but he only growled and pushed himself faster.

He landed with a hard jolt that made pain shoot through her and she gasped, eyes wrenching open. They were at the gate to the village, Pakkun barreling through the feet of the stunned gate guards. Kinomi caught a glimpse of them in the mirror-bright metal of the gatehouse door. Pakkun, bedraggled and covered with dirt and bits of leaf, her in his mouth, and crimson blood drooling out of his jowls and spattering on his chest. No wonder the human guards looked so freaked out and were running off frantically. She heard one of them say Iruka’s name and thought wearily that Iruka-dono could make it all better.

Pakkun ran for home, the nest-house that Iruka-dono and Kakashi shared.

They made it through the door at a dead run, Pakkun slewing sideways on the tiles of the genkan. Pakkun lowered his head and let Kinomi slide down onto the step before throwing his head back with a wild, despairing howl.

It echoed away into silence and Pakkun’s legs went out from under him, spilling him into an untidy heap on the tile. 

Kinomi heard a heartbroken whisper escape his lips. “Boss....” Then he slumped, eyes closing.

The door flew open behind him and Kinomi feebly opened an eye. Gentle hands scooped her up and Iruka called her name hysterically. She managed a tiny squeak, and patted his thumb with one bloody paw.

“Kakashi!” Iruka shouted, his voice wavering. “Get help! Kinomi and Pakkun are hurt!”

Kakashi was gone before he’d even finished the sentence.

“Kinomi,” Iruka whispered. “Just hang on. Help is coming.” 

Kinomi squeaked again. She felt the warm rush of Iruka’s chakra around her, strong and green and tasting of dark forests and fresh earth. She relaxed into it, knowing he was attempting to heal her, to give her strength till a real medic arrived. She had to stay awake until then; tell them about the Cloud-tree ninja that had attacked them.

But it was so hard...

She would have shouted in relief when Kakashi burst back in the door, but she didn’t have the breath.

Several people barreled in behind him, a lady with red streaks on her face going straight to Pakkun, and Kinomi was glad. Pakkun needed attention.

The lady that smelled of fermented things came and laid her hands over Iruka’s. He looked up at her in surprise, tears gleaming in his eyes. She just smiled. “I did my medic training the same way anyone else did. You always start small. I can help her.”

Iruka smiled tremulously and released Kinomi into those green glowing hands. Kinomi squeaked in surprise as the pain ebbed away. Gripping one of the thumbs holding her, she lifted her head and complained in a weak chatter. 

Iruka reached out to stroke her head with a fingertip. Kinomi leaned into the caress.

“What happened to you two, little one?” The lady holding her asked.

 _Oh!_ Kinomi sucked in the first real breath she’d gotten since the senbon had hit her. She glanced over at Pakkun and decided that she wouldn’t tell them why they had been building the trap. Never-ever! So, leaving that part out, she admitted to the making of the trap and then the attack of the Cloud-tree ninja. She told them that Pakkun had triggered the trap and the man should still be where they had left him.

“Tsunade-sama?” asked one of the other people in the room.

The lady holding her glanced up. “Go, fetch back whatever these clever little summons left of him. Brat, you go too, I’m sure you can follow the blood-trail.” She glanced over at Pakkun. “Nothing will happen to Pakkun, I promise.”

Kakashi nodded abruptly and left, and Kinomi thought that she wouldn’t have to call him droopy anymore, not with the way he was moving, like a wolf on a hunt.

Tsunade stroked her cheek with a fingertip. “Now, you rest and heal. Good work today, both of you.”

Kinomi looked back at Iruka and offered him a whiskery smile, before letting her eyes slip shut.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kinomi blinked awake, feeling warm and safe with a slow, dull thudding in her ears. It took her a moment to remember what had happened. She was tired and felt almost as slow as Pakkun could be sometimes. She stirred and cracked open an eye. Oh. She was cradled against Iruka-dono’s chest in a nest-like sling. The dull thud-thump was his heart. She wondered what was wrong with it, it was so slow, but that wasn’t as important as... She turned her head and saw Pakkun sleeping on a pillow. His breathing was slow and steady, each exhale ending on a soft, whistling sigh. Good-good. He was okay.

Iruka moved and she looked up at him to see him staring at the door to the kitchen. Kakashi-not-droopy was standing there, making odd motions with his hands. Iruka nodded and gently nuzzled her head before lifting her and the warm nest-thing wrapped around her away from his chest and setting her next to the sleeping Pakkun. Pakkun snuffled wetly and she automatically stretched her paw out to rest on his muzzle. He sighed and relaxed.

Kinomi did the same. Her eyes were too heavy to stay open, but she listened alertly to Iruka-dono speaking to Kakashi in the next room. Would they fight it out like she and Pakkun had planned for them to?

No. Their voices were low and tinged with guilt and sorrow, not anger. Frustrated, Kinomi dragged her heavy eyes open and struggled painfully out of the folds of the nest thing and edged off the pillow. It was hard to move and she hurt all over, but she needed to find out what was going on. Pakkun would never let her hear the end of it she didn’t have all the details for him when he woke up.

“...Just looked like a badly cracked tea bowl.” Iruka-dono’s voice was heavy and sad.

“You weren’t to know,” Kakashi said in response, sighing. “In retrospect, it’s as much my fault as yours.”

“No,” Iruka-dono said firmly. “It’s not. I didn’t know and I had no right to rearrange things. I should have asked before throwing it out. It was stupid to assume that is was junk and not something sentimental.” His voice cracked. “I wish I had known that it had that much value to you.”

“It was the last tangible thing I had of her,” Kakashi said. “I still don’t know what Father did with most of her pictures when she died.”

“I’m sorry.” Iruka’s voice was full of pain. “If I could make it so the whole incident never happened, I would.”

“I had intended to try and open up more, but I really don’t think blowing up at you was the best way to go about it. If I had actually opened up to you before that, it never would have happened.”

"And I am so _so_ sorry. I would never hurt you like that on purpose." Iruka said so softly that she had to lean forward to hear him.

Kinomi’s paws slipped and she stifled a squawk of pain. _Ow-ow-ow-ow!_ It took her a minute or two to catch her breath and she missed what Iruka-dono and Kakashi had said but now Iruka was laughing softly.

“ — check on Pakkun. I’ll bring the tea out.”

Kinomi looked back at the pillow in dismay. She’d never make it back there in time before Kakashi and Iruka came out. They’d know she was listening in, and Iruka-dono had told her not to do that anymore after she’d relayed that she had heard he and Kakashi acting out a scene from _Icha Icha: Violence._

She hauled her aching body back towards where Pakkun lay asleep, hoping she could get there in time.

Strong hands scooped her up. “What are you doing over here, little one?” Kakashi murmured softly. “Were you listening in on us?”

She looked up at Iruka’s nestmate with worried eyes. Was he mad?

He didn’t look mad, his mask loose around his throat and his lips curved up in a small smile. “We’ll keep it between us as long as you don’t do it at night anymore,” he admonished softly, carrying her back to the futon and pillow where Pakkun slept. “Iruka doesn’t need to know.”

Kinomi squeaked agreement.

Kakashi set her down on the nest-thing Iruka had her in before and lifted Pakkun. Cradling the dog to his chest, Kakashi stretched out on the futon, propping his head on the pillow and settling the sleeping pug on his chest. Kinomi crawled out of the sling and made her way up to Kakashi’s head. He scratched her head with two fingers and she curled up in his thick hair. _Mmm, warm and soft._ “Nice, like nest,” she chirruped softly to Kakashi, who only chuckled.

A moment later Iruka emerged from the kitchen, carrying a tea tray in both hands. He raised an eyebrow at Kakashi. “She’s not supposed to be moving around, you know?” he scolded, setting the tray down and seating himself.

Kinomi opened an eye and was about to reply when Kakashi beat her to it. “Maa, what can I say? She likes it; says it reminds her of her nest.”

“Because you have half the forest stuck in it. As usual.” Iruka had a bland expression, but his voice warmed with amusement. “Was the bastard who hurt them in the trap?”

Kakashi chuckled and sat up, very gently dislodging Kinomi. She squeaked a sleepy protest at the loss of warmth. Kakashi stroked her head and eased Pakkun down beside her on the pillow. “Yes. Bundled up in a very complex net of chakra wire. Ibiki has him now and I’m off the active duty roster. At least for a few days while Ibiki gets some answers.”

Kinomi snuggled in closer to Pakkun, closing her eyes, but listening with satisfaction. The nestmates weren’t hurting anymore and she considered that work well done.

“Four days?” Iruka asked, his voice lilting up a little on the end. Kinomi chittered softly under her breath. Iruka had that tone in his voice that meant more _Icha Icha_ readings in the future. She hoped she was strong enough to get to her cozy little niche in the attic before then. Her human nestmates were weird.

“Yep,” Kakashi chuckled. “All because those two were _‘practicing’_ traps in the woods. Any clue why?”

“No,” Iruka answered. “All Kinomi would tell me was that they were for someone else.”

“Like Pakkun, perhaps.” Kakashi mused thoughtfully. “They make a good team.”

“Not something one would expect a dog and a squirrel working together, especially not after their first meeting.” Iruka chuckled. “Still it must have been something important.”

Pakkun stirred and raised his head. 

Kinomi looked up.

Pakkun grunted, yawned and lowered his head. He obviously wasn’t going to say anything on the matter.

Kinomi mirrored Pakkun’s yawn and curled closer to him. It had been very, very important. More than those two would ever know. Satisfied, she let sleep claim her.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Reflections of our Mistakes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/835528) by [radkoko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/radkoko/pseuds/radkoko)




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